the mind is a tricky beast; it often deceives us, leads us astray. It paints the best picture of us, reflects back a righteous, good-acting human being. Are we ever in the wrong? In almost every argument, aren’t we the injured one, the one who has been maligned, insulted – but is this always so?

surely the person on the other side thinks the same thing? that they are in the right?

being honest about motivations and feelings is a lifelong grapple.

see the mind, with all its little intricate tunnels, thought forms that we have built over time.

sometimes the spiritual path can be portrayed as being a little dour, without joy. But not so! It doesn’t have to be all serious!

having fun, being joyful is very much a part of spiritual growth! it’s seeing the comedy of life, it’s ironies, it’s unfortunate misunderstandings and overlaps; it’s the wry smile of someone who KNOWS.

experience teaches us many things; that there is tragedy, there is downfall – but there is also the Uplift, the rising on the tide of Joy.

Be Happy, and guffaw a little. Laugh out loud to the soundtrack of South Park.

sometimes we want to be of help – any way we can. This urge to ‘save the world’, to be the martyr of these times is the natural overflow of love. But the feeling must be tempered. Just like you yourself are responsible for your own life, so too is each other single individual responsible for their life course. To direct others, to interfere even out of good intentions violates the basic principle of free will.

such love much be tempered by the knowledge of wisdom. When these two principles are combined we arrive at a higher form of compassion; one in which empathy is present, but despair is not. There is suffering, to be sure, but such is mortal existence.